Worship/Christian Music

1. Jars of Clay – self-titled: This album is the reason I play acoustic guitar now.

2. Darrell Evans – Let the River Flow & Deleriou5? – Cutting Edge: These albums made me want to praise God passionately. I spent alot of high school Bible studies singing songs from these albums.

3. Chris Tomlin – Not to Us: This album was the first album in the Christian market that I feel was produced really well and was similar to the production of pop on the radio. The writing is concise and we have ended up playing almost every song on the album at church.

4. United Live – My Best Friend: This album came out at the same time all my friends were listening to Blink 182 and the begining of the alternative to indie transition. This album showed me that “praise” music could be punk or more rock and roll.

5. Switchfoot – The Beautiful Letdown: This album really spoke to me in some difficult times and ended up being the force behind me and my college girlfriend breaking up. The entire album is written so well and lyrically can be summerized in a simple phrase, “this is your life, are you who you want to be?”

6. Emery – The Question: This album was the first ‘harder’ Christian music that I listened to because it was so well written and so melodic. It has opened the door for Underoath and other harder bands which I really enjoy now. Also lyrically, they craft alot of spiritual lyrics using sarcasm that I can appreciate.

aside: I never really got into crowder stuff that much. At least not leading it. I really appreciate that it is there, but I really have never enjoyed his stuff that much.

Other albums that have affected me greatly. Damien Rice – O: Weezer – Pinkerton: The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream: Radiohead – OK Computer: Coldplay – Parachutes: Matt Redman – The Heart of Worship, The Father’s Song: Newsboys – Going Public: Eoghan Heaslip – Mercy & Grace in the Wilderness:

This has been a great excerise for me with my band because I learn where people are coming from. You can read the music I have been into and have a pretty good idea what I sound like or try for. I found that a few of my guys love Blink 182 (which I do not like at all) and that explains a lot of conflict between us. I would encourage you to do this for yourself. It actually can be quiet emotional. I have had some amazing moments around music.

The other benefit that has come from me thinking about this is that I realize that music sometimes feels like a large part of my life, but rarely changes my life for the better. Some of the albums that I love actually have not motivated me to seek the Lord. They have had little lasting effect on my life.

Just a few thoughts. Thanks. -j

Dear brothers & sisters, My question is: On the “See the Morning” CD by Chris Tomlin, the song “How Can I Keep From Singing” is listed under the lyrics as Traditional. I was wondering who wrote it, what year, is this the original melody? Thanks, LA

Information about most traditional songs can be found on CyberHymnal.org which I find to be a great resource for historical information. This particular song can be found here.

Tomlin’s version of the song, which appeared on his album “See The Morning” was co-written with Matt Redman and is loosely based on the original song.

The messages from Faithwalkers 2005 are now available for download. All main sessions as well as the breakout seminars are online. All downloads are availabe for free (released under the Creative Commons license). Thanks to Malex Media for hosting the downloads.

Also available from that site are some great pictures from the conference.